Chocolate Cherry Baileys Cookies

Hey guys! First, I am so so so excited to announce that I have teamed up with a group of 29 other Canadian bloggers to bring you 30 Sweet Valentine’s Day Ideas to Make, Bake, and Create [aka my first ever blog hop!] You can find all of these ideas at the end of this post so be sure to check them out!

With Valentine’s Day around the corner, I’ve been thinking about ways to make the day a bit more special. Matt and I are way too practical to book a dinner reservation that night so we’ve always chosen to stay in and make a fun dinner at home. For us, that is usually Kraft Dinner and cheese smokies [not even kidding] or if I’m feeling fancy, heart shaped pizzas.

In case you didn’t know, I LOVE baking. Seriously, any excuse to make cookies and I’m there. Birthdays, holidays, work functions, fundraisers, random Wednesday evenings…you get the idea. So obviously with Valentine’s Day coming up, I fully intend on taking advantage of another excuse to pull out my stand mixer and whip up something loaded with chocolate.

This year I thought I would make these Chocolate Cherry Bailey’s Cookies. I’m particularly proud of these cookies because these are the first cookies I feel like I can officially call my own. That being said, I think it is only fair to mention that I can’t take full credit for this recipe because I’ve actually combined two recipes together to make this one. The cookie dough comes from this Salted Mudslide Cookie recipe [which is pretty fantastic on it’s own] and the chocolate ganache and cherry topping comes from a recipe I found on the Better Homes & Gardens website [it’s since been removed otherwise I would share that recipe to].

I was initially inspired to make these cookies a couple of years ago. My sister had gotten me a bottle of Chocolate Cherry Baileys for Christmas but since I wasn’t a huge fan of the chocolate cherry flavor in my coffee, the bottle sat in our cupboard for a long time. About a year later as I was planning out which Christmas cookies I’d like to make, I thought I would experiment and try combining the two recipes together. I couldn’t have been happier with how they turned out and they have since become a favorite in our home!

These cookies are super soft, with enough chocolate to satisfy your absolute biggest chocolate craving. Plus, you know, Baileys. I actually made these cookies again this past Christmas, and they were such a huge hit that I hardly got to enjoy any myself [hence why I’m making them again for Valentine’s Day]. If you can’t find a bottle of Chocolate Cherry Baileys at your local liquor store, I promise you the regular Baileys would be just as good.

In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat together the melted butter and sugars until combined. Beat in the vanilla and egg mixture. Stream in the Chocolate Cherry Baileys. Continue beating until combined, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed. Slowly add flour and mix until a dough forms, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed. If your dough looks a bit dry, continue adding Baileys by the teaspoon until the dough reaches the right consistency. Fold in the chocolate chunks.

By this time, the cherries should be close to thawed (if they are still a bit frozen you could let them sit a bit longer). Lay a piece of paper towel over the cherries and press down gently to soak up some of the extra juice.

Roll the cookie dough into golf ball sized balls and place onto a greased cookie sheet. Press your thumb into the center of each cookie to create an indent. Place a cherry in the center of the cookie. Refrigerate for 30 minutes.